Cross Country recruiting?

politeperson
Thu, 04 Aug 2022 15:09:43 +0000

No, there’s no rush at all. Track and XC are late recruiting sports with most of the meaningful stuff happening after fall of junior year, sometimes well after, especially for boys. For now I’d just give him the opportunity to get comfortable with the sport and the training and see if he finds the sort of joy in both that is necessary for long term development.

As far as training with dad and entering races: at a decent to good HS program, kids will be guided through year round training, usually training with teammates. They’ll be racing September into November and March into June. Some states have indoor seasons in the winter. There isn’t much time for additional racing and unless it’s guided by someone who knows what they’re doing, it can really harm long term development and contribute to burnout. So I’d be careful.

The good news, as you mention, is that there are opportunities to keep running in college at all levels—independently, club team, or school team.